It looks like her fingers are bending backwards as she claps with her palms, never letting her fingers touch. So what exactly was going on here? via the BBC:

Nicole Kidman has finally revealed why she appeared to be clapping like a seal at this year’s Oscars ceremony.

Australian radio presenter Kyle Sandilands said to the actress: “I told everyone you were clapping like that because you had the rings on and you didn’t want to damage the rings.”

“You are so right Kyle,” she replied.

“It was really difficult because I had a huge ring on which was not my own, but was absolutely gorgeous and I was terrified of damaging it.”

However, that’s not the entire story. This isn’t the first time that Nicole Kidman’s has have been in the news. In fact, she appears to have some redness or skin condition on her hands and knuckles. Heels a montage from October of 2008 Notice the bony red knuckles as she runs her hand over her hair,

I was impressed by Nicole Kidmans mitts when she raised them to her face to blow a kiss for the cameras at the Sanremo Music Festival.

And another photo showing the redness all over her hands:

So perhaps it is painful for Nicole Kidman to clap normally, or she is trying to protect the sensitive skin on her hands. According to the Daily Mail, “one potential reason for the blotchy appearance could be down to eczema or Raynaud’s phenomenon (a disorder causing discolouration of the hands).”

So not only are Nicole Kidman’s hands reddish, her fingers can bend backwards too. Or maybe she’s just allergic to all of that expensive jewelry.